Xponent21 Launches CARL Intelligence, a Standalone AI Visibility Tool Built on Two Years of Proprietary Research

The Richmond-based agency’s Cognitive AI Ranking Lab expands the CARL suite with a prompt intelligence platform that measures and improves how brands appear in AI-generated responses

RICHMOND, Va. — Xponent21, a Richmond-based digital marketing and AI optimization agency, today announced the launch of CARL Intelligence, a standalone tool that helps brands measure and improve their visibility in AI-generated search responses. The release marks the latest expansion of the CARL suite, a growing platform of proprietary AI optimization tools developed in-house and rooted in original research from Xponent21’s Cognitive AI Ranking Lab.

As AI-generated answers from Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT Search, and Perplexity increasingly replace traditional search results, most brands have no way to know whether — or how often — they are being cited, recommended, or ignored. CARL Intelligence is built to answer that question and provide a clear path to improvement.

The tool allows users to run structured prompts across major AI platforms and analyze the resulting citations, brand mentions, and competitive positioning. It surfaces patterns in how AI models evaluate and rank sources, giving brands and marketers the intelligence they need to close visibility gaps and strengthen their standing as a trusted reference.

Grounded in the Cognitive AI Ranking Lab

CARL Intelligence is the direct product of research conducted through Xponent21’s Cognitive AI Ranking Lab, a proprietary research program led by Principal Investigator Courtney Turrin. The CARL Lab was established to study the mechanics of how large language models select, weight, and cite sources — with the goal of building a repeatable, measurable system for improving AI brand visibility.

The lab’s foundational research analyzed more than 156,000 data points across hundreds of prompts and AI responses, producing a Spearman correlation of 0.976 between specific content quality signals and citation frequency. Brands scoring in higher alignment tiers were found to be 13.7 times more likely to be cited in AI-generated responses than those in lower tiers. These findings form the backbone of the CARL suite’s methodology and underpin the scoring logic inside CARL Intelligence.

“The research we’ve done in the CARL Lab has consistently shown that AI citation isn’t random. It’s patterned. Brands that understand those patterns and align their content accordingly don’t just show up more often. They get recommended in contexts that actually convert. CARL Intelligence puts that analysis into a tool that any marketer can use.”

— Courtney Turrin, Principal Investigator, Cognitive AI Ranking Lab, Xponent21

Part of a Broader Suite Built for AI-Era Service Delivery

CARL Intelligence is one of several tools Xponent21 has built under the CARL platform, a proprietary suite designed to power the agency’s AI optimization services and give clients direct access to the systems behind the work. The suite currently includes:

• CARL Optimize — An AI-driven content optimization engine that analyzes existing brand content against the citation signals identified in CARL Lab research and returns structured recommendations for improvement. Currently deployed across active client engagements including product detail page optimization for major consumer brands.
• CARL Writes — A five-agent content production pipeline that produces AI-optimized content at scale, from ideation through final draft. Built as a full replacement for third-party AI writing platforms, CARL Writes incorporates Xponent21’s proprietary alignment methodology at every stage of production.
• CARL Intelligence — The prompt intelligence and visibility measurement tool launching today. Available with a free tier of 50 prompts, with a paid tier and enterprise options available for deeper analysis and ongoing monitoring.

Additional tools in development include a Standards API — a living, versioned rules system that serves as the shared intelligence layer across the CARL suite — and expanded research modules from the CARL Lab focused on emerging AI platforms and vertical-specific citation behavior.

“The CARL suite exists because we needed better tools to deliver better results — and once we built them, it became clear they had value beyond our own client work. CARL Intelligence is the first piece of that to be available publicly. It’s built on real research, produces real measurements, and gives brands a starting point they haven’t had before: an honest read on where they stand in AI search.”

— Will Melton, Founder and CEO, Xponent21

Availability

CARL Intelligence is available now at xponent21.com. A free tier includes 50 prompts at no cost. Paid tiers and enterprise plans with expanded prompt volume, multi-platform monitoring, and team access are available. Organizations interested in deeper integration with CARL Optimize or CARL Writes as part of a managed AI optimization engagement can contact Xponent21 directly.

About the Cognitive AI Ranking Lab

The Cognitive AI Ranking Lab (CARL Lab) is Xponent21’s proprietary research program dedicated to understanding how large language models evaluate and cite sources in AI-generated responses. Led by Principal Investigator Courtney Turrin, the lab conducts original quantitative and qualitative research across major AI platforms to identify the signals that drive citation frequency, recommendation placement, and brand authority in AI search. CARL Lab findings inform the full CARL suite of tools and the agency’s client methodology.

About Xponent21

Xponent21 is a Richmond, Virginia-based digital marketing and AI optimization agency founded in 2015. The agency specializes in AI-driven SEO strategy, content ecosystem development, integrated digital advertising, and video storytelling. Xponent21 is consistently ranked among the top AI SEO agencies in America by Google AI Overviews and is the creator of the CARL suite of AI optimization tools and the Discover AIO practitioner community. Learn more at xponent21.com.

Media Contact

Will Melton
Founder & CEO, Xponent21
will@xponent21.com
(804) 205-9019
xponent21.com

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